Customer reviews for 8 ft. x 30 in. 120V Radiant Floor Warming Mat

The SunTouch Floor Warming 8 ft. x 30 in. Radiant Floor Warming Mat adds comfort and a touch of luxury to your home. This ultra-thin, low-profile system installs beneath tile, stone and even vinyl or laminate flooring. It's ideal for remodeling bathrooms and kitchens and offers an upscale option when designing new construction. It is energy efficient as well as inexpensive to operate. Dual wire technology reduces electromagnetic fields (EMF) to ultra-low levels and it is UL listed for safety.

Disappointed

PostedFebruary 12, 2015

Overall rating

2.0out of5

Appearance

3.0out of5

Ease of installation

2.0out of5

Quality

2.0out of5

Value

1.0out of5

No, I do not recommend this product.

Bought this brand mainly because of the price, variety of sizes and availability at Home Depot. Was really looking forward to heated floors, but have been very disappointed. It takes several hours to warm floors at the max setting and even then it doesn't get very warm (manufacturer claims 20-45 minutes). We installed it in two different bathrooms and the results were similar in both. Also, we didn't buy the programmable control, so it's useless in the morning unless we leave it on all night. In the end, we spent over $1,000 and got something to show-off to friends, but not much else.

It you're going to get this, I would probably recommend getting the programmable thermostat and buying a bigger size sheet then you actually need.

Good investment

You must be patient with the installation of this product. And I would suggest not setting the thermostat to full heat, (72 degrees was more then enough in my home),it may create tile cracks. It took a while to convince my wife to the idea because it is a bit pricey, after I installed this in my kitchen she fell in love with it. It's nice during the Chicago winters and not very expensive to use. Initial costs are crazy but well worth it. It also is a good selling feature for house flippers if you plan on a kitchen or bath remodel.

+1point

1out of1found this review helpful.

Review 3 for 8 ft. x 30 in. 120V Radiant Floor Warming Mat

JimAtlanta

from Atlanta, GA

A Very Good Choice

Have done this system in three separate bathrooms over the past ~8 years; I highly recommend it.It's not quite so simple as "unroll it and tack it down", but it is very do-able if you take your time and follow the directions.One tip: do *not* assume that the heat will radiate more than about 1" laterally from the coils. I found this out when I laid the system out in a way that did not heat the footprint of the cabinet/vanity that was going to go on top of the floor. What I didn't account for was the toe kick area at the bottom of the vanity and there was about a 2" wide area where your toes go that wasn't heated!

This is a really neat product. We are "do-it-yourselfers" who, last fall, added a 6' x 11' mudroom in the back of our unheated garage. We bought the Sun Touch mats to heat the floor, hoping that they would also adequately heat the room itself. We installed two mats on an insulated sub floor, built over the cement slab of the garage. Not only does it heat the room very nicely, (in Michigan winters!), it actually throws quite a bit of extra heat into the adjoining family room. The directions were easy to understand and the installation was also easy. The heating wires seem pretty tough, just make sure you don't chop them with the edge of your trowel as you lay the thin-set. Also make sure that as you lay the ceramic tile, you keep checking the ohm resistance of the mats. Once it warms up, the floor gets nice and toasty. It's wonderful to kick off your snowy boots and just stand on it. :-)

Give it Time

This SunTouch floor warming mat is a treat for your toes- but give it time to install correctly and give it time to warm up.

If installing ceramic tile with thinset, extra mortar will be needed to account for the thickness of the mat. Grooves should be cut in the underlayment to lay the sensor wire and power feed so they do not protrude above the mat wires. Regular staples may not work to secure the mat to tile backer, so heavy duty electrical staples or hot glue may be used.

The warming system takes some time to get up to temperature, so a programmable thermostat is best to ensure the floor is warm when needed. If there is a forced-air heating duct in the room, it may be blocked to allow the floor warming system to keep the room warm using less energy.

Overall this is a great product, though overpriced a bit if you consider that this is basically just a heating element woven into a flimsy rubber mat. It certainly adds an element of luxury to any bathroom or kitchen.

Great Floor Heat

The mats are great to layout and in the mat format much better for covering area. It should be noted that the mats need to be cut a little to get the leads long enough to reach the side of the room(mats should not cover complete surface)

Pros: Comfortable, Great Accent, Looks Great

Cons: difficult to make even

+5points

5out of5found this review helpful.

Review 7 for 8 ft. x 30 in. 120V Radiant Floor Warming Mat

Gbert14

from Maryland

SunTouch Mats are Fantastic

This is a fantastic product! We put it over an existing slab, with a 3mm cork underlayment underneath it. We then installed the SunTouch mats (2) with thinset and then re-tiled. We have yielded a 16 degree increase in our tile warmth - the floor was 57 and is now 73 on the coldest night this year (outside temp was single digits!). We are totally thrilled with the product! The instructions are fantastic, and very easy to follow.

Over all satisfied, with some negative observations

The only reason this product doesn't get 5 stars is because it doesn't reach full temperature with the setting at MAX. The green light doesn't come on until it is helped by the hot air heat run that runs directly under half of my heating area. Although, even at less than max, it's comfortable. I originally bought the product planning on installing it myself. I changed my mind and had the tile work and much of the remodeling done by a contractor. I can see that it would be very difficult to install tile over an get it level.

Straight forward

Got it in a few days was easy to install just had to put spacers or mat down where the heat mat does not get to make everything level as the heat mat is about an eigth inch high also had to route out an channel where the sensor goes as it is about one quarter inch high. Got the programable sensor and its great.

Suntouch Electric Tile Warming Mat

This is a wonderful product. Our electrician ran the wires and hooked up the control for us. It was easy to install in the thinset, and our entire bathroom is warm and comfortable when it's turned on. The warmth it generates can be felt in our bedroom and the central hall, and it substantially reduces the amount of time our heater runs. We use it sparringly in the summer, but during the cool seasons, we leave it on around the clock. I only wish that we had used it beneath the tile throughout our house.

+5points

5out of5found this review helpful.

Review 12 for 8 ft. x 30 in. 120V Radiant Floor Warming Mat

Blue

Love the warm floors

PostedOctober 8, 2012

Overall rating

5.0out of5

This is the third time we have installed this product. We are advanced do-it-yourselfers but installation instructions were very complete. We have installed under marble and travertine. Tricky to level things out when going over the heated mat areas but the end result of the warm floors in the winter are well worth it.

Pros: High Quality of Material, Easy to Install, Great Instructions, Effective

+7points

8out of9found this review helpful.

Review 13 for 8 ft. x 30 in. 120V Radiant Floor Warming Mat

jcas

from Elko, NV

Must have for tile + cold weather

I live in Nevada and decided to use this product for the first time when I remodeled my master bathroom, about 2 years ago.After that it became the standard and I used it again when finishing the basement bathroom, remodeling another bathroom and installing tile in the mud room...Works great and is really easy to install... plenty of install instructions and tips come with the product.

+5points

5out of5found this review helpful.

Review 14 for 8 ft. x 30 in. 120V Radiant Floor Warming Mat

Larry

from Virginia Beach, Virginia

Suntouch floor heating

I purchased a 8'X30" tile floor heating element. Suntouch provides a excellent product and this is the best purchase for tile floors. My install was in the kitchen and it is fantastic! This is a easy install for DIY projects. If one installs tile, purchase a heating element. You will love it!

warming floor mat

I've had the mat and programmable thermostat for a year and just love it. I no longer need a heater in my bathroom and the ceramic tile stays toasty. I recommend the programable thermostat-you don't have to waste energy. Also, if I am away-I am able to easily set it to turn off until I return.

+4points

4out of4found this review helpful.

Review 16 for 8 ft. x 30 in. 120V Radiant Floor Warming Mat

LeRoy and Maryann

from Oklahoma City, OK

Bathroom Tile Heater

We recently gutted our bathroom and put in this heater under the floor tiles. It was much easier than the heater we installed in our other home that required us to run the wires up and down and get it exactly right. This is already done for you (no brainer) and provided very exact directions and precautions that helped the installation go well. It is worth the time and effort because now we have beautiful and warm, inviting tile to walk on. Our bathroom used to be so cold and we hated it. This product works great and we are very satisfied!

Heated Floor Mat

This is a GREAT product we installed it under our lower level bathroom tile it makes those old cold tile floors a thing of the past now with newly installed tile and these mats it is absolutely wonderful to walk on no more cold feet.